Save Me From Myself
by Thatzly
Summary: Cancer isn't the end of the world, it's just another hurdle for the Host Club to overcome together.
1. Chapter 1

**I DO NOT OWN OHSHC!**

* * *

"Hikaru, you have another nosebleed?" A soft voice broke the bleeding boy from his reverie as he stood, leaned over their marble bathroom sink trying to clamp his nose shut. He remained still, afraid of the frightened tinge in his brother's voice. "Maybe we should tell someone. You've been getting those a lot lately. I'm a little worried…"

Hikaru shook his head. "I'b find, Kaoru."

Kaoru tweaked an eyebrow up at Hikaru's attempt at speech, and then disappeared from Hikaru's line of vision.

"You're fine?" He translated, pressing a wad of tissue to his brother's nose. His eyes darted to the mirrored image of himself, and his bleeding brother bent over the counter. It was a pitiful site, one that had been reoccurring in different bathrooms for the past month. Combined with Hikaru's inability to catch up on sleep, Kaoru was beginning to feel a nagging sense of dread creeping throughout his body. "If you get another one I'm telling someone."

Hikaru's body tensed up and he gave a slow, stiff nod. He took over, pushing Kaoru's hands away so he could hold the tissue himself. The younger boy's eyes widened.

"Do you have a fever?" Kaoru's hand shot out, only to be thwarted by Hikaru's quick thinking. He pulled his head back, dodging out of the way of the foreseen attack.

"I'b find," Hikaru repeated sternly. Kaoru's hand stay frozen midair, and he searched the other's eyes for some reason for such an unusual reaction.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru started. "If you're sick…"

A shrill voice cut him off much to Hikaru's pleasure. "Young master's you'll be late for school!"

"We'll be late," Hikaru repeated, throwing the dirtied tissue away. He grabbed his school bag, straightened his tie, and without glancing back at Kaoru escaped from the bedroom.

"Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin," The teacher called, peering over her grade book to focus on the two in question. "Do you have your presentation prepared?"

One boy nodded, while the other continued to stare ahead at the board. The woman frowned.

"Wake up, ." Hikaru rubbed his eyes before hauling himself up into a stance. Together, he and his brother made their way to the front. Hikaru took position beside the large screen, while Kaoru sat at the computer, and with a few clicks the screen came to life.

"You can start whenever you're ready," the teacher prompted.

Hikaru nodded, and turned to the screen. His face scrunched up in a confused grimace. The words blurred together as one, making it hard to distinguish where one began or ended. He closed his eyes.

It shouldn't be this hard, but this could also be the consequence of their lack of preparation. He and his brother had spent the week playing video games and teasing Haruhi about her dedication to the project. It was only a day ago that they decided to finally work on it seriously.

The older twin swayed slightly on his feet before quickly catching himself.

"Chemistry was created over four thousand years ago by the ancient Egyptians," he slurred, pulling the words from memory rather than reading what they had prepared. He reopened his eyes. That, however had been the worst decision he had made. Now, the concerned faces of his classmates spiraled before him.

He took a few unstable steps back before colliding into the wall behind him and leaned heavily against it as if it were a crutch.

"Back then…" he started again.

"Speak up please."

Hikaru blinked. His voice sounded as if he had turned his iPod at its maximum volume. Why would he speak any louder?

"It paved a path for…" He spoke, not heeding the teacher's words. Instead, he searched his struggling brain for the word. He closed his eyes again, swallowing hard. "Paved a path for…"

"Alchemy," Kaoru's voice prompted, his panic seeping through.

"Al..chemy…" Hikaru repeated. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and like a doll he crumpled to the floor.

"Hikaru!"

* * *

"He had been having a lot of nosebleeds lately." A voice said, filtering through a sea of blackness. "And for the past two weeks he complained about being tired."

Kaoru.

A new voice spoke. "Well, we've already contacted your parents. We were told that until they return your legal guardian will be your aunt. Are you able to get in contact with her?"

"Yeah…"

Hikaru's eyes blinked open. Around him stood his brother, and a face he didn't recognize. The man seemed to be in his early thirties, and wore a dull white lab coat with a small nametag he was too far away to see. Beside Kaoru were machines, all of which were beeping obnoxiously in his ear.

He groaned.

"Hikaru! You're awake." Kaoru leapt into action, hugging his tired brother in a death grip. The doctor wisely took this time to slip out of the room.

"Are we in a hospital?" Hikaru asked. He moved to sit up, but Kaoru's hand gently pinned him down.

"Yes, they brought you here after you fainted during our presentation. Do you remember?" Hikaru shook his head, and Kaoru continued.

"I was really scared, Hikaru. You started acting weird…and then…" Kaoru pulled his brother closer to him, burying his damp face in Hikaru's shoulder. "The paramedics said you had just fainted, but I…I thought you were…"

Soft eyes fell onto his distressed younger brother, and he raised a weak hand to rub Kaoru's back soothingly. "I'm sorry, Kaoru."

Kaoru took a deep breath, and then straightened. "They already did a blood test with mom and dad's permission, and they said auntie is our guardian for now. Hopefully nothing else will happen, but just in case I told them what's been happening."

Hikaru frowned.

"Other than that, they said nothing was wrong. It was probably just nerves. They should let you leave soon." Kaoru finished, standing. "Rest, I'll tell them they can come back in."

Hikaru leaned back into his bed, fixing his eyes on the white ceiling above him.

* * *

The shrill ring of a phone broke the usual hustle and bustle of the Hitachiin home. A nearby maid quickly scurried over, setting aside her cleaning supplies to pick up the phone.

"Hitachiin residence, may I ask who is speaking?" She recited.

"Ah, hello," A male voice spoke. "This is Dr. Matsushita speaking. Is this the Hitachiin residence?"

The maid wasted no time handing the phone to the nearest Hitachiin. She spoke in a low voice explaining the situation before reporting back to her maid duties.

"Dr. Matsushita, we've been waiting for your call. Did you get my nephew's test results back?" The aunt held her breath, and waited patiently for an answer she did not truly want.

"Yes. We need to request for him to come in for a more detailed blood test. I can refer you to a blood specialist so they can—" The doctor drawled on to deaf ears.

Blood specialist? What could they possibly have found that they needed to go to such lengths to examine more blood? She could think of many possibilities, and none of which did she want to see tagged onto her nephew.

Curiosity killed the cat however. "What did you find?"

* * *

"What floor are we going to again?" Kaoru asked, a playful bounce in his voice.

"The eighth." Their aunt answered, bags under her eyes. She hadn't gotten much sleep after the phone call. Too busy awake, listening to her younger sister's worried sobs on the phone all night.

Both parents were on the next plane home.

"Are you sure?" Hikaru joined in, smiling at her.

Both twins skipped down the hall, seemingly unaffected by the early morning surprise that, instead of school, they would be going back to the hospital. Only one twin was needed to go, but being so attached to each other, if one went the other did as well. They were like children really, but even through their playful banter she noticed up until now they'd been much quieter than normal.

"Yes, I'm sure it's the eighth." She replied for the third time since they'd arrived.

"Are you sure?" Hikaru asked.

"You two…" She couldn't find the nerve to actually get mad at them though. They didn't know how serious this was.

"What floor are we going to…?" Kaoru asked all playfulness drained from his voice and his face blank. He felt Hikaru's hand slip into his.

"The eighth." The aunt answered. Her gaze followed their line of sight and she let out a heavy sigh. She didn't want them to find out like this.

"You said we were just here for another blood test, right?" Kaoru started again, his voice wavering.

"That's what I was told."

"Then why are we going to the cancer ward?" He screamed. Hikaru's grip tightened in Kaoru's hand, but he remained silent, his head bowed to the floor, blocking out the large words on the floor plans sign.

Kaoru's eyes were pleading, begging her to tell them she had made a mistake. When the older woman looked away he nearly broke. Twin bodies moved closer together, shakily leaning on the other for support.

Ding.

The elevator arrived bringing with it the heavy weight of reality. All three members stepped in, no one making eye contact.

"You're not sick, Hikaru." Kaoru whispered softly. "This is a mistake, we'll be out of here soon."

Still, their hands never parted.

* * *

Being in the same room at the same time was a rarity for the Hitachiin family. Both parents worked so much it made it impossible for them to be around all the time, but now here they were, eating dinner with their children in silence.

They had come home soon after the frantic call from the head maid about Hikaru's health scare. Before she could even finish telling them the details they were off the phone and on a plane to Japan.

"How has school been?" Yuzuha asked, her voice as cheerful as she could make it during such a tough time.

Her question was met with blank stares. Both boys, picking over their food, answered. "It's been fine."

"Especially if you count me passing out in the middle of class." Hikaru chimed with bitterness.

Both parents narrowed their eyes at the eldest twin in warning. Yuzuha opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the entrance of a young maid, a phone in hand.

"Hitachiin-san, the hospital is—" The phone was snatched quickly from her hand.

"Hello, yes this is she…" Her eyes darted momentarily over to the two boys before quickly standing and leaving the room. "Hikaru is—" Their father quickly trailed after her, closing the door and leaving the twins to be alone.

Hikaru stared down at his plate and pushed it away before standing. His stomach was churning so violently now he felt like he was going to be sick.

"Hikaru…" Kaoru stared up at him, his eyes filled with worry.

"I don't feel well. I'm going to go lay down."

"I'll go with you." The younger twin stood as well.

"No, that's okay, Kaoru," Hikaru smiled.

He left Kaoru to stand alone in the dining room even though the pain was quite evident in his younger brother's eyes at the rejection. He had never rejected an offer from Kaoru before, but what was he supposed to do? Kaoru had enough on his plate with emotions at the moment. He couldn't add his own fear to the pile. It would break him.

Instead of going to lie down, Hikaru found himself locked in the bathroom, staring into his own eyes in his reflection in the mirror. A slim hand lifted to gently caress his face. His face over the past few days, oddly enough, had become discolored. Each day he looked in the mirror he grew paler, and his eyes dark with the need for more sleep, even though lately he went to sleep earlier than Kaoru and woke up later. He had just passed it off as a cold though, but now… What if he really is sicker than he thought…?

A knock of the door tore his attention from the mirror.

"Hikaru? Are you alright?" A deep voice asked.

"I'm fine." With a click Hikaru unlocked the door, allowing his father to let himself in.

"Hikaru, your mother and I need to talk to you downstairs. The doctor called and—"

The older man's words fell onto deaf ears. The only thing Hikaru could hear was the beating of his own heart in his chest. For a moment, he felt faint. His body shook, his eyes wide. Behind his father, in the room he shared with Kaoru he could hear muffled sobs and his mother's shaky, but calming voice. "Kaoru…shh...I know."

Before Hikaru could realize what he was doing, he was already flying down the stairs, and out of the mansion. He didn't hear the voices shouting after him, or see his brother's slumped and defeated body crying for him on their bed.

'_I don't want to know!_' His hands cupped over his ears, blocking out the outside, but still he could hear his own thoughts. '_I'm not sick! I can't be, this isn't fair!_'

He slowed to a stop outside near a white pavilion. It was small, but elegant. Flowered vines covered the roof, and up its stairs two benches sat, waiting to be used. Hikaru however moved to the backside of the pavilion, towards a small door used for underneath storage. He and Kaoru had hidden under here all the time when they were younger to vent, or disappear from the world. And, now seemed the best time to try to disappear once more. He knew it was childish, but he didn't mind. As long as something was there to protect him from the outside world along with his body, even if it was only a checker-holed pavilion wall.

Hikaru sat himself in the corner, curled into a tiny ball, his head pressed against his knees. Beside him, a figure crouched down, peered through one of the holes, then moved around to the compartment door.

A disgruntled grunt caused Hikaru's head to snap up. "Dad?"

The quiet man continued forward and plopped himself next to his teary-eyed son. A large arm slung over Hikaru's shoulder and pulled him close enough to lean his head against his dad's broad shoulder. Neither spoke.

"I'm sick…aren't I?"

His dad gave a grim nod.

"Is it bad?"

This time the answer took longer to come. A nod. Hikaru sobbed harder, pressing his face into his father's soft shirt.

* * *

_Merr. I edited the first chapter a long time ago because it annoyed me. So here's the other version of it. Not much of the second half has changed because honestly I got lazy._


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

**I DO NOT OWN OHSHC**

* * *

When his mother had first walked through the doors to the room he shared with his brother, eyes puffy and tear stained, he knew something was wrong. There had been an uneasy silence in the room, and when she sat down next to him on the bed, he could see the small tremors in her hands.

At first, he had thought it was a joke. It wasn't a funny one, but his mother was known to do things such as hiding all their regular clothes and replacing them with her frilly, girly designs.

However, the sadness in her eyes had soon become contagious. She didn't have to say a word for Kaoru to know just how bad things were going to get. Tears spilled over his eyes and in an instant warm arms were wrapped around him.

Hikaru, had run off to God knows where during his little break down. Their dad had run after him, although Kaoru wished it was he who had had the strength to go after Hikaru and comfort him. Maybe it was for the best. What could he possibly say to make things better?

That had been two hours ago, and Hikaru nor his dad had come back.

Now, Kaoru waited alone in their room on the bed, flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. His face was a blank mask, his eyes dull.

"Acute Myeloid Leukemia," Kaoru mumbled playing with the words on his tongue. "Leukemia. A cancer."

"_Does that mean you're going to die, Hikaru?_" he thought. "I_ won't let you_…"

The creak of a door caught his attention and his head slowly turned. He only hoped it wasn't his mom again. She did nothing but make him feel worse about the situation. In stepped Hikaru on tiptoe. He paused when he saw his brother move.

"Mom said you were asleep," he mumbled, a frustrated hand running through his hair.

Kaoru sat up, his eyes meeting Hikaru's. "I wanted her to leave."

"Oh."

An awkward silence filled the room.

"You heard…?"

Kaoru let out a shaky sigh, once more fighting back another torrent of tears. "Yeah…I heard." He pushed himself up to lean back on his elbows and stared openly at Hikaru. People who had cancer, their hair fell out and they grew pale from the treatments and its effects. Would Hikaru lose his hair? Would he look so sickly he looked more like a skeleton rather than his brother?

Instead of voicing his concern, he asked a question instead. "Are you scared, Hikaru?"

Hikaru fidget on his two feet before making his way over to the bed. He lay beside Kaoru, his eyes facing the ceiling rather than his brother's gaze. "A little, but you'll be there with me so it won't be that bad, right?" He found his brother's hand and squeezed it lightly.

Kaoru returned the gesture and leaned back in the bed like his brother. "You know I'll always be here, Hikaru."

They would get through this.

Somehow.

* * *

"Chemo makes your hair fall out," Hikaru spoke, his voice full of thought, back hunched over a computer screen. Behind him Kaoru hovered, a gentle hand leaning on his shoulder as he read. "Do I have to do this?"

"Yes, Hikaru, you have to!" Kaoru gasped, his hand tightened on Hikaru's shoulder.

"But I don't want to look like that…" Hikaru pointed to a man, his head bald but smiling on the screen. "Maybe we could try the other treatment. The one with an 'r'. But then again, if I get older—"

"When you get older…" Kaoru corrected sternly.

Hikaru closed his mouth momentarily. His fingers clicked open another page. He began again, his voice softer this time. "When I get older…"

He left the sentence open to hang in the air. He liked the positive feel of the words on his tongue.

Ever since they had begun to research the disease they saw nothing but death and loss. Kaoru however somehow got it into his head that they would beat the odds. Perhaps they were reading two different versions of all the websites.

Hikaru, for once was being realistic, and Kaoru somehow managed to paint everything into a positive light, no matter how dark the topic was.

"Ne, Hikaru. Just think, soon we'll have a new audience for our pranks," Kaoru smiled, pushing Hikaru's slip up to the back of his mind.

Hikaru retuned the smile. It was good to know someone was able to pretend to be normal. "The nurses will never know what hit them."

Kaoru chuckled lightly, leaning into his brother. His laughter filtered off and soon he closed his eyes. Hikaru leaned back into him, his eyes sliding shut as well. He was a complete contrast to his brother now. His pale skin looking even worse when put up against his brother's healthy pink tint.

"Maybe we can convince mom to let you stay. You can pack a bag too and—"

A deep sigh could be heard. "Hikaru, you know I can't. I want to, but I can't. I wish I could."

Hikaru's shoulders slumped.

"I'll visit everyday. I'll come after school and stay until they kick me out," Hikaru nodded slowly. Kaoru buried his face in his older brother's hair, taking in his scent. "How tired are you?"

"I'm wide awake," Hikaru lied. Kaoru opened his eyes to send Hikaru a disbelieving stare.

Hikaru stifled a yawn.

"Bed," Kaoru voiced sternly. He grabbed his brother's arm and hauled him gently over to the bed. They had found out earlier that day what damage rough housing did to Hikaru's weak body. Kaoru had only hit him playfully, and a few hours later a bruise larger than a hand had formed.

"But I'm not tired…" Kaoru's glare shut him up.

"You're going to sleep, Hikaru. You're tired. Besides, you're going to the hospital early tomorrow morning." Hikaru let out a disgruntled noise. He hated when his brother used logic on him like that.

"Fine," Hikaru pouted. "But only if you come with me."

"But, Hikaru I have to—" Kaoru however didn't get a say in the matter as he was dragged then pushed back onto their bed. For someone who was supposedly sick, he was still awfully strong. "Okay, we'll both sleep then."

"Good," Hikaru grinned. "And, I'm sleeping in your bed tonight. Any objections?"

Kaoru shook his head and pat the empty space next to him. Hikaru gladly filled that space and curled against his brother under the covers. It wasn't long before both boys fell into a deep sleep.

"Hikaru, wake up," Kaoru said gently, shaking his brother awake. Hikaru only moaned and rolled over. His sweat soaked bangs clung to his face and his breathing came out in ragged breaths. "Hikaru…"

Kaoru rest his hand on Hikaru's forehead and immediately pulled away. Hikaru was burning up, he definitely had a fever, the only matter was finding out what the damage was. He maneuvered his way into the bathroom through the pitch-black room and, too tired to turn on the light rummaged through the drawer by touch only.

Finally, he found what he had been questing for, a thermometer. By time he made his way back to the bed Hikaru had already kicked most of the sheets off the bed and was now curled into a ball. Kaoru would have chuckled if it weren't for the fact that this was a serious situation.

"Are you cold or hot, Hikaru?" Kaoru asked, sitting beside his brother.

It took him awhile, but finally Hikaru answered, his voice coming out as a soft whisper. "I don't know…both?"

"You can't be both, Hikaru. Choose one."

Hikaru moaned. "Cold."

Kaoru found the sheets and hauled them back onto his shivering brother. "But you're sweating…" He slid the thermometer into Hikaru's mouth and sighed. Today was already turning out to be bad. It was two in the morning and he was awake with his ill sibling when he would much rather be asleep.

He found himself nodding off slightly as he waited for the small machine to beep. Maybe, he was actually still asleep. Maybe this was all just a nightmare, a really, really long nightmare.

A small prod jolted him awake. He looked down to see Hikaru poking him gently with the back of the thermometer. It seemed this wasn't a dream at all.

"102.1," Kaoru stared at the numbers in the dark, then turned on the light to make sure he had read it correctly. Indeed, Hikaru's fever really was that high. "I'll be back Hikaru. Don't move."

"What is it?" He heard his brother croak.

Kaoru froze mid-step. "You'll be fine, Hikaru."

That night, Kaoru got no sleep. When everything was taken care of, and Hikaru was fast asleep and Kaoru himself was tucked away in bed, he still got no sleep. How could he sleep when he could think about nothing but Hikaru and his illness?

And, this was just the beginning.

* * *

"If I hit him, Hikaru will be home in a week," Kaoru closed his eyes, praying with a Gameboy in hand. He sat alone in the hospital lobby, waiting for his parents and the doctors to come out and tell him he could finally see his brother. They had shooed him out for testing, and although both boys had protested their mothers word along with the doctor's was final.

On the screen his character stood, weapon in hand about to strike. He was in the middle of a boss battle, a boss battle that he and Hikaru could never beat even together. He blamed it on Hikaru. It was his fault for running into a battle under level.

The character swung their weapon, but missed.

Kaoru's heart fell.

"If I make this one, he'll go into full remission in a month."

The enemy dodged the attack.

"Kaoru?" a voice called from behind him. He turned to be faced with a small brunette, the natural host herself. The girl moved closer to her friend and sat beside him in the waiting room. "You're not with Hikaru?"

"They won't let me see him until they finish a few tests," he turned back to the game. "Plus, it gave me time to go to the library."

Haruhi nodded. Her eyes fell on the many books around the young twin. Blood disorders, Cancer Types, all of these books were related to—

Kaoru quickly gathered the books into a pile, face down and spine titles facing away from Haruhi. His face flushed with embarrassment. "The information on the internet was too vague."

"He starts treatment soon, doesn't he?" she asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next to him and changing the subject.

He nodded, turning back to his game. "Yeah, but he's only getting tests done today... What are you doing here?"

"Ah...sempai thought it would be a good idea to 'come bring joy to his two sons' by visiting. They got distracted by the gift shop though," Haruhi answered.

Kaoru could only shake his head. "Even so, I'm glad you came. I'm sure Hikaru will be happy to hear everyone is here."

"He'll be in remission in two months?" Kaoru whispered to himself, tapping his stylus against the screen. A deep frown formed on his tired face.

Haruhi perked up. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Kaoru answered, his voice full of disappointment. He stared at the screen, game limp in his hands. "I'm being childish..."

The short girl leaned closer to him, her eyes becoming trained on the screen. He picked it up once more, face set with determination.

"He'll be home and well in three months?" he attacked, but missed again. Slowly his character was dying.

Haruhi gently pried the system from Kaoru's hands. "I attack like this?"

Kaoru leaned over and nodded, pointing at the game commands. Not that he was really interested in the game anymore. If it couldn't grant him just one wish then why should he waste his time? Needless to say, the game was originally never going to grant him a wish. It after all wasn't a genie.

"If I hit him," Haruhi started, quickly picking up on Kaoru's little game. "Hikaru will be better by your birthday."

She attacked, and hit.

* * *

_Not much to say about this chapter. I wonder if all of this made sense...I have the tendency to say confusing things. As always, any comments, suggestions, or whatever are welcome.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Ouran isn't mine**

* * *

"How do you feel?" Kaoru hovered over his pale brother's hospital bed, his face twisted with an unappealing frown. Despite the reassurances from both their parents and the doctors that Hikaru was going to be fine, Kaoru still had his doubts. It was like a nagging child that pulled on his shirt sleeve, begging him to poke and prod at his ill twin until he got the answers he needed. What those answers were, he himself didn't yet know. Maybe he just needed a few words that would calm the negative thoughts of living without his brother that were speeding through his head.

Hikaru groaned, not from pain, but frustration. "If someone asks me that question one more time..." He sighed, and then shifted from his position on his back to an attempt at sitting up. "Ouch!" In an instant he was back to lying flat and staring up at Kaoru from his pillow.

"You're sore. Don't be stupid. You can answer me while lying down." This granted Kaoru a flustered glance from his twin, whose face and ears had begun to take on a red hue.

"I forgot..." Hikaru mumbled. He decided to change the topic from his accidental self-inflicted pain and to the original subject. "I feel fine. My hip hurts obviously, but I'm fine." The twin paused to think. "Hopefully, the results will be okay. I really don't want to have to go through another test. I don't like being stabbed in the back, and all of this is becoming a pain."

This time it was Kaoru's turn to think. He repeated Hikaru's words, "Stabbed in the back."

"Well...my hip, but it was close enough," Hikaru clarified.

Hikaru watched Kaoru think with a perplexed frown on his face. Whenever Kaoru thought too much, it almost always meant he would come to some over analyzed conclusion that made no sense. Of course, Kaoru also was the one with the most insight to himself and the world outside of their own.

"What if that's why you're sick?"

"What?" Hikaru asked. Again he tried to sit up, only to wince. There was probably a bruise where the doctors prodded him. The evidence was the tenderness of the area whenever he irritated it even slightly.

"It's karma. We stabbed those girls in the back when we were in middle school, and now you're being stabbed in the back...literally and figuratively." When Kaoru got only silence, he sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "It's not that much of a long shot, Hikaru."

Said twin blinked. "Are you listening to yourself?"

"This is coming from the person who believes in aliens and super powers," Kaoru snapped back. "Think about it. Something bad was eventually going to catch up to us for what we did, and I think this is it. You're sick because of how we treated everyone back then."

The bedridden twin closed his eyes and tried to ignore the throbbing pain from where the doctors had pierced his bone with a needle. He hoped they got everything they needed, because he would punch the next doctor that tried anything like that again. It wasn't terribly painful thanks to the medications he'd been given, but it was enough of a shock to turn him off from it.

"If that's the case, then maybe I'm sick because of the time we trapped Tono in his bathroom." Hikaru winked, and smiled playfully up at his brother.

Kaoru snorted and then doubled over with laughter, despite his theory being waved off. True, it was ridiculous, but his mind wanted something to blame. Still, he joined in on Hikaru's joke. "Or maybe because you tried to steal Kyouya's notebook," he sputtered out through giggles.

"It was probably a trap! He laced the outside with cancer-inducing poison!" Hikaru added, a little too loudly. A few more jokes later, an older nurse came hobbling in to interrupt their rambling speculations and outrageous theories. Their fun had been squashed, but at least Kaoru's heart felt lighter.

* * *

"If I have to be poisoned, can you at least give me a decent TV to play video games on?" Hikaru fussed. The television wasn't small, but if it didn't fill the length of the wall, it was below his standards. "And the sound is terrible."

Around Hikaru's bedside several nurses worked to prepare his medication. He'd heard one mumble something, but lucky for her he couldn't decipher it. "I thought you said my brother was here."

This time he got a response. One of the nurses, who seemed to be happily prepping the needle that would be stuck into her complaining patient's arm, steadied her movements. Needle gleaming dangerously in her hand, she spoke, "He's under age. He can't come in while you're getting treatment."

Hikaru's muscles wound up, until his body grew completely stiff. His mouth dropped open, floundering desperately for words. He didn't even know what to say to such a thing. Going through this without his brother, his best friend?

"He was just in here yesterday," the traumatized boy started slowly. His words quickly found energy to press forward with more force. "What's so different about today? Did you change your age limit overnight! This isn't fair! You can't really expect me to do this without him..." Hikaru grit his teeth and then snapped his head away to focus on something other than the pitying faces of his nurses. Suddenly, he felt alone, more than when he'd first watched Kaoru disappear from his room to return to home. Home, where he should be too.

"I'm sorry, honey. He's under seventeen." The woman looked to her partner for help but was given no support. "Once you start treatment your immune system will fall. That's why he can't come in, he's not an adult. We can't risk him infecting you with any kinds of illness spreading around in school. Your mother said she would come in instead."

That did nothing to change Hikaru's tense, sullen demeanor. He pressed his lips together in a straight line and tangled his fingers in his bedsheets, clenching at them firmly. Mute tears began to fall and streak Hikaru's agonized face.

* * *

_Sorry to disappoint those who wanted updates on my other fics, but I'm in a medical mood. You may be asking, "So what? You do other med fics. Why revive this one?" Because it's hitting close to home with some issues I'm having at the moment. _

_Anyway~ Sorry for this drabble-esque thing. I was just in the mood to write something cheerfully depressing. I didn't see any mistakes...but sorry if there are. Also if some info is off._

_As always, drop me a line~ Review, PM, doesn't matter the method._


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